Raymond Byrne (24) of Constitution Hill, Dublin pictured at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today where he pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Grzegorz Gazek at Supermac's restaurant on Westmoreland Street in the early hours of Christmas Eve, 2013. (Image: Collins Courts)

A young man who threw a pint glass at a Supermacs manager in Dublin, causing permanent damage to his eye, has avoided jail after a judge decided “with great reluctance” to give him a second chance.

Judge Patrick McCartan told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today: “For far too long in this city, serious injury, particularly to the face, is caused by beer glasses being thrown late at night by young men who should know better."